To put it simply, imposter syndrome is feeling like a fraud in your current professional position and doubting your abilities, talent and success. It usually hits when you’re about to begin a new venture, or reach new levels in your career. If this feels familiar, read our blog to discover 4 strategies you can implement to help overcome imposter syndrome in your business.
What is the Definition of Imposter Syndrome?
To put it simply, imposter syndrome is feeling like a fraud in your current professional position and doubting your abilities, talent and success. It usually hits when you’re about to begin a new venture, or reach new levels in your professional career.
Imposter Syndrome affects many people, even some of the most successful people in the world, including business moguls and celebrities. In fact, a majority of entrepreneurs and small business owners feel like imposters at some point.
If this feels familiar, here are 4 strategies you can implement to help overcome imposter syndrome.
4 steps to overcoming imposter syndrome in business:
- Give yourself a personal SWOT analysis
- Recognise your success
- Build entrepreneurial resilience
- Join a start-up academy
1. Give Yourself a Personal SWOT Analysis
One tried and tested way to overcome imposter syndrome is to give yourself a reality check by conducting a personal SWOT analysis. You probably learnt about and composed a SWOT analysis during school or university, but instead of a business analysis, this time, the focus is you, your life and your abilities.
This analysis will examine your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT), and can offer a real insight into your present and future capabilities and where you may need to improve.
When mapping out your strengths, ask yourself questions such as ‘what are my natural talents?’ and ‘how do I set myself apart from other professionals?’.
For weaknesses, think about questions like ‘do I need to obtain more education, certifications or practical skills? Or ‘do I have any negative work habits?
Next, map out your opportunities and think about questions such as ‘what’s the economic outlook for my profession?’ or ‘what trends do I need to follow to stay relevant?’
Finally, think about your threats e.g. ‘Who is my biggest competition?’ and 'What external factors might threaten my industry and my business model'.
Once you’ve conducted your analysis, make sense of the information by looking at your weaknesses and converting them into strengths, and by examining threats and converting them into opportunities. Turning negatives into positives can be an empowering process and really push you to reach new levels in your professional life.
Once completed, schedule practical steps into your calendar. Running and starting a business is more than a 40 hour week however finding two hours a week for personal development is more than enough. A Friday morning is usually the most uninterupted time when you can truly focus.
2. Recognise Your Successes
Sometimes all it takes is a little reminder that you are, in fact, as fantastic as your successes say you are.
Try tracking your business accomplishments for a few months and keep a log of the milestones you’ve reached and obstacles you’ve overcome. It may be super beneficial to even write a list and pop it on your desk, door, refrigerator, anywhere you know you’ll see it throughout the day for a little pick me up.
Journaling is also a common practice amomgst some of the most successful business leaders such as Simon Sinek and Bill Gates. It's also beautifully simple - buy a small A5 notepad and pen, and place it on your bedside table next to your lamp. This will serve as your reminder to reflect and write down your successes before you turn the lamp off.
Reflecting on your positive experiences and successes before bed will help you wake up feeling energised and excited.
3. Build Entrepreneurial Resilience
Resilience is important for people in all roles and walks of life, but for an entrepreneur, it’s crucial and one of the most essential entrepreneurial traits.
Startups and scaleups today face all sorts of challenges, but the best way for entrepreneurs to bounce back from these difficult events is building resilience. This will allow them to look past short-term setbacks and focus on long-term missions.
If you need some assistance building entrepreneurial resilience, check out this recent blog.
4. Join a Supportive Startup Incubator
Startup incubators are support programmes specifically designed for early-stage startup businesses. The incubator aims to nurture startups by supporting them through early product development and customer acquisition.
Whether you’re suffering with a lack of confidence and want to be equipped with more knowledge, unsure how to get your idea off the ground, or simply in need of a supportive business network, a startup incubator like the Tramshed Startup Academy is a great idea.
Learn more about the many benefits of joining a startup incubator here.
The Tramshed Tech Startup Academy
Tramshed Tech is a startup ecosystem, home to 50+ companies ranging from pre-revenue start-ups to scaling businesses with 600+ registered members from the digital, creative and tech communities.Tramshed Tech is the best place to start and grow your business because we understand the challenges entrepreneurs face.
One of the many business support schemes we run is the Startup Academy - Tramshed Tech’s flagship incubation programme supported by Google for startups. The 12-week programme has provided a structure for entrepreneurs and early stage business owners to start and grow their business. Book your place for the Tramshed Startup Academy Demo Day or register your interest to the academy here.
For more helpful tips from our experts, check out our news page or get in touch to find out about our spaces and memberships.
Written by Kate, for Tramshed Tech.
